Virtual worlds not so fast...

Anyone who knows me well will tell you I'm a big fan of social media. However, there's one social media technology that I don't care much for at the moment and that's virtual worlds. This is based off my failed attempt to use Second Life and the degree of difficulty I found trying to navigate the site. Bottom line it just wasn't intuitive and felt too clunky. Because of these failings virtual worlds aren't ready for mass adoption - even though several fortune 500 companies like IBM and GM feel differently.

In order for virtual worlds to take off the usability must improve substantially. For instance moving your avatar should be as easy as typing this sentence. Additionally the application should be easy to install on your lap top and not hog a bunch of memory like I experienced with Second Life. Also, I believe that the emergence of touch based devices such as the i-Pad might make virtual worlds easier to use. Touching a screen and moving an object is much more intuitive than using key strokes. But until some of these issues are ironed out, I'm content using my 2 dimensional Facebook and Twitter accounts to get me through.

Every key stroke you make, I'll be watching you...

Okay so I changed the words of Stings 80's hit "Every breath you take" for the title of this post, but it's fitting considering the topic is online privacy. But the truth is that every word, sentence and paragraph that I type on this blog is recorded and can be looked at by ANYONE. Like Lawrence Lessig emphasized in his 2008 speech at University of Chicago: data is endless, it survives forever, and is open for the world to see. As a result, some people have become paranoid or at least cautious, while some remain oblivious when online.

I'm stuck in between the paranoid and cautious crowd. Sometimes I worry about what I communicate online simply because it can be used against me. Don't get wrong, it's not like I'm running for Mayor, but I monitor myself because I know the kind of cyber world we live in. For example many companies will do a thorough background check online even before that first interview. We've all heard of cases where job candidates are eliminated because of that inappropriate pic on Facebook. Yet it still happens. People still act inappropriate online, write things they shouldn't, and not care about the consequences. Those people belong in the oblivious crowd. They think the web is private and it's their right to do whatever online. But it just doesn't work that way. Like the song goes...

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
I'll be watching you

Networking - Real world and online

Months before I officially started my MBA I had lunch with a fellow co-worker who was a mentor to me. He had gone to M.I.T. for his MBA and I really respected his opinion on career related matters. I asked him what his best advice for me would be and I'll never forget his words - "Don't kill yourself over the books, get out there and meet as many people as you can. Its all about getting a JOB..." That statement had a profound impact on me while at Kogod and drove me to network beyond the norm. During these last 2 years I've spent more time outside of the classroom than probably should be allowed. Don't get me wrong, I love the professors at AU, but because I was so willing and accepting of networking opportunities I benefited greatly by scoring 2 internships, visiting execs of fortune 100 companies, and being affiliated with a major non profit IT organization.

How was I able to gain all of these valuable experiences? Networking - both in real life and online. Merging these two worlds is the real key to success. For example, after I met a professional in my field of interest, I connected with them on Linked-In the next day for reinforcement. This way they can see my work experience and related info and get a better feel for who I am. I also send notes regularly to certain folks through Linked-In and actually get meaningful responses. Folks who haven't jumped on the Linked-In bandwagon need to take notice. It's becoming the preferred platform for job seekers and employers as mentioned in this Mashable article "How to Get the Most Out of Linked-In." As I stare down graduation with 3 months to go, its been a comforting and useful tool in my job search. At this point, if you're not on there and you're in this MBA program I pray you have a great Rolodex.

Location Location Location

I love my i-Phone. It does so many things well. I can get my e-mails, shoot video, take photo's, get news, manage my finances, surf the web and the list goes on. But one of my favorite features on my i-Phone is when an app asks me to use my "current location" to pull up information such as finding the nearest movie theater or restaurant. It's such a time saver. And to think this location based capability wasn't even around a few years ago. Thanks to innovative location technologies, some of which are discussed in this Tech Crunch article, our mobile location enabled devices have made our lives easier.

But of course there are many privacy concerns related to the aforementioned mobile location feature. For instance, the threat of hacking and spying is real which is the topic of this shocking youtube clip. Bottom line, people feel its unnerving for others to know where they are which is completely understandable. To those folks, I say use this feature at your own risk. Also consider most phones like the i-Phone will let you disable the location setting if you so chose. As for me, I think it's worth the risk. Thus far, I've had no complaints using this feature and have arrived at my movie and restaurant destinations with time to spare because of it.

The Internet feeds the mind

I honestly don't remember how life was like without the Internet. I can faintly remember being in elementary school at 9 years old reading encyclopedia's as a way of obtaining information. In fact, does anyone remember this commercial for Encyclopedia Britannica? I can remember that nerdy commercial like it was yesterday. Every kid I knew who was smart had a set of those encyclopedia's at home and even bragged about it. Now fast forward 20 years later. Have things changed that much? From the stand point of accessing massive amounts of information quickly anytime, any place for free - the answer is yes. But in the end, a lot of the same information found in those old encyclopedia's is now on the web - we're just accessing and consuming it on our computers instead of books. Same words, just different platform...something Internet bashers don't understand.

The beauty of the Internet is that we get not one news source, but literally millions at our choosing from news media, to blogs, to even scholarly information! I'm of the school of thought that because of this we're actually getting smarter as a human race because information is so readily available. Some agree with this view, such as Damon Darlin of The New York Times. Being surrounded by information and constantly consuming it broadens our brain, helps us solve problems and think of new idea's. Despite all of its benefits, how can anyone argue that the Internet would make us dumber? Even more outrageous, how can anyone award a Nobel Peace prize to someone with this view - Dorris Leesing anyone?

So if anyone still feels like the Internet makes you dumb, well go right ahead and crack open the old Encyclopedia's. The rest of the world won't wait up.

Consumers: Talk to me or meet your doom?

"If you don't join the conversations customers are having about you, your brands, and the things that matter to your brands, then you're dead." This is a pretty powerful quote from a recent interview with Federated Media's John Battelle.

At this point, statements from experts like this shouldn't shock anyone. Social media has become the great equalizer as described in the youtube clip "Conversational Marketing" by providing a communication platform for consumers. Personally, it's unimaginable for me not comment about recent purchases either on Twitter, forums or even the company site itself. Although I've never truly had a "conversation" with a company, I appreciate the one's that would be willing to hear me out versus the ones who don't. To see a great example of this check out My Starbucks where Starbucks actively engages in conversation with their customers to better their products.

For those companies still catching up with "conversations", I truly fear for their survival. They are missing customer insight, losing relevance and most importantly not building relationships. Although not everyone wants to have conversations with companies - see Jeff the situation blog post - I still feel its important for businesses to engage their customers.

How do you feel about companies that don't engage in conversations? Would this affect your relationship or willingness to buy from them?

Social media unlocks great potential for customer service

After reading "Social networking forces change in customer service" by Barney Beal, I can see why companies are focusing on harnessing social media's power to improve customer service. There's great potential being unlocked, especially regarding improving customer interaction and improving the product experience. Like the article mentions, social media has empowered customers and given them the opportunity to tap into each other to solve problems or allow direct interaction with the company itself for feedback. This concept is similar to another blog post where I write about "crowd sourcing" and how the masses have done a great job interacting with companies.

With that said, I'm always curious what would happen if all of a sudden companies like Twitter (which many companies use for customer service) start charging fee's to companies that use its service. Up to this point, many online tools like Twitter have been free of charge and companies have greatly benefited from them. But the day will come when "free" ends and fees begin. Will companies then bite the bullet and pay or abandon their customer service strategy using social media?